Friday, July 27, 2012

We held a fundraiser last night to raise the money to pay for the pioneer trek the youth are going on in a couple of weeks. We made the money we needed to, which is nice. It was mostly the youth leaders who donated the stuff in the first place (and who are going along as mas and pas and cooks and general support) who bought it all back, which is less nice. Bygones!

I was in charge of the bake sale table, and I contributed two pies, lemon meringue and chocolate banana cream. The lemon meringue sold instantly, with three additional orders, but the cream pie was not so popular. I was starting to feel bad about myself, but then some guy--one of my lemon pie orders--bought it. So then I was sad that I wouldn't get to taste it, because I think it was going to be an awesome pie. I've never eaten or seen that flavor, so I think I might be the inventor of it, and I want credit if it goes viral. For those who are interested, this is how I made it:

Blend the dry ingredients, then cut in the fat until the mixture looks like cornmeal with some pieces of fat that are pea-sized. Adding a little bit of ice water at a time, work the dough until it holds together. This is a somewhat fatty dough, but it makes the dough much more forgiving and easier to handle without overworking. When atmospheric conditions allow I will sometimes leave out a tablespoon of the butter.

Divide the dough in half and shape it into two disks. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, or overnight. For a blind-baked crust, roll a disk out and fit it into a pie tin, making the decorative edge of your choice. Dock the crust and freeze while you preheat your oven to 425 (or at least ten minutes--you can also freeze it overnight). Line it with a greased piece of foil filled with rice or beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the filled foil and reduce the heat to 350. Continue to bake until the shell is crispy and lightly browned, another 10-15 minutes.

Chocolate and Banana Cream Pie Filling
(makes 1 pie)
This is the Sue Watanabe filling (scroll down) that I love so much, doubled so I don't have to add as much whipped cream at the end. I decided I like a less poofy filling in this application.

Combine dry ingredients, then gradually mix in the 3 C of milk. Cook on medium-high heat until thick, stirring constantly. Dissolve gelatin in the 1/3 C of milk, add the beaten eggs, then add to the cooked mixture. Cook a little longer, then remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide the pudding in half. To one half add a pureed ripe banana and mix in thoroughly so there are no chunks. I used an immersion blender for this. To the other half add chocolate to taste, whisking until smooth. I used a small handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips, a few unsweetened chocolate chips, and about 3/4 teaspoon of my dark cocoa powder that looks like dirt from the forest floor. It is available at Kitchen Kneads in Ogden.

Cover the puddings with plastic wrap pressed to the surface and refrigerate until completely cold. Whip the cream until just shy of stiff, and whisk it in a dollop at a time until you have the consistency you want. Then fill the pie shell as you wish.